Charter Act 1833- Features Of 1833 Charter Act, UPSC Notes

What Is Charter Act 1833?

The Charter Act of 1833 was an updated version of the Charter Act 1813. This Charter was of great significance because it was an indication of British supremacy over the entire India. This can be witnessed by the fact that this charter promoted the designation of the governor-general of Bengal to the Governer-General of India

Saint Helena Act 1833, better known as The Charter Act 1833 was issued to India by Britain. The reason why this act is called Saint Helena Act 1833 is that Saint Helena had an island, which was taken away on the enactment of this act. Go through the main aspects of the Charter Act 1833 for an easy understanding of the topic.

Charter Act 1833 UPSC Notes

The Charter Act 1833 is an important topic in Modern Indian History and should be covered through the Indian History Notes for UPSC. Over the years, several questions have been asked from the Charter Act 1833 in both UPSC Prelims and UPSC Mains GS Paper- 1. To cover this topic, a candidate needs to be well versed with the UPSC Syllabus, along with readings of the NCERT Books for UPSC and the UPSC Books. The aspirants can get well-versed with the complete details of this Act by downloading the Charter Act 1833 UPSC notes PDF as facilitated here, it is of high essentiality for the aspirants to get hold of all the essential and crucial concepts.

☛ Charter Act 1833 UPSC PDF

The importance of the Charter Act 1833 must be understood in a detailed manner along with the comparison between several other charters acts, such as Charter Act 1813, Charter Act 1853, Morley-Minto Reforms, and the Regulating Act 1773.

Provision And Features Of Charter Act 1833

The Charter Act 1833 ended the activities of the East India Company as a commercial body. The EIC was just an administrative body. It provided that the company’s territories in India were held by the government ‘in trust for His Majesty, His heirs, and successors. It legalized the British colonization of India and permitted the English to settle freely in India. Other features of 1833 Charter Act have been listed here.

• It made the Governor-General of Bengal the Governor-General of India and vested in him all civil and military powers. The Governors of Bombay and Madras lost their legislative powers.

• Lord William Bentinck the first Governor-General of India.

• The Governor-General had legislative powers over the entire British India. Even the matters related to the civil and military affairs of the company were controlled by the Governor-General in the council.
• The Governor-General’s council had four members. The fourth member had limited powers only. Pitt’s India Act 1784 had initially decreased it.
• The Governor-General in council had the authority to amend, repeal or alter any law pertaining to all people and places in British Indian territories whether British, foreign or Indian native.
• The Governor-General’s Government was called the Government of India and the council was called India Council.
• The laws made under the previous Charter Acts were called Regulations while laws made under Charter Act 1833 were called Acts.
• The Charter Act of 1833 introduced the system of open competition for the selection of civil servants from India. The Act stated that the Indians should not be debarred from holding any place, office or employment under the Company.

• The Act recommended that the Hailey Bury College of London should make a quota to admit future civil servants.
• The Indian Law Commission was established to codify all Indian laws, with Lord Macaulay as its first chairman.
• The Charter Act 1833 aided the regulation of the establishment of Christian establishments in India and the number of Bishops was sealed at 3. It also sought to regulate the establishment of Christian institutions in India.
• The act also provided for the mitigation of slavery in India. Slavery was abolished by British Parliament in Britain and all its possessions in 1833.

Significance of 1833 Charter Act

The Charter Act held prime importance in the administration and law of India. It suppressed the rights of the East India Company as a commercial body, it was restricted to be as administrative reforms. The Governor of General surged to the rank of Governor General of India. The Charter Act also opened the gateways for Indians to be a part of the administrative services. The segregation of the legislative functions, from the executive. The laws were encoded by the law commission. It also led to the mitigation of the monopoly of East Of India Company.

Charter Act Of 1833: Defects And Drawbacks

There were numerous defects of the 1833 Charter Act such as all the powers being snatched from the Governor-General of Madras and Bombay and given to the Governor-General of Bengal. This act created an overburdening workload on him. Take a look at other defects to get cognizant of all the parameters of this Act.

• This burden of over-centralization was often refraining the government in council that they couldn't take time for resolving public matters.
• The government in the council was solely accountable for the entire British Indian territory, hence most of the time, they could not manage the requirements of the local governments as there were no representatives from their sides.
• This mismanagement lead to the gap between the presidencies, and they started becoming callous concerning the laws made by the supreme council.
• The supreme leader - the Governor-General of Bengal wasn’t able to exercise effective administration over the distant territories due to a lack of leaders.
• However, this act of vesting all the powers to one hand increased the chances of autocracy.

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Charter Act 1833 UPSC Questions

This is an essential and crucial topic that is asked in the UPSC prelims and mains exam. The experts have provided some questions for reference and in attaining knowledge of all the particular topics. Check the list of sample questions that have been provided here. The Charter Act 1833 UPSC questions will provide the candidates with complete ideation of the crucial topics that will enlighten with the pattern of questions asked in the exam.

Question 1- Which among the following helped in the passing of the Charter Act of 1833?

1. A) Gray, Buckingham, Mill
2. B) Buckingham, Mill, Macaulay
3. C) Mill, Macaulay, Grey
4. D) Grey, Macaulay, Buckingham

Answer: Option C

Question 2- Who was empowered to legislate for the whole of civil, military, and revenue services by the Act of 1833?

1. A) The Governor-General of India
2. B) The Governor-General of India in consultation with the provincial Governors
3. C) The Governor-General-in-Council
4. D) The Governor-General of India in consultation with the Secretary of State for India

Answer: Option C

Question 3- Which one of the following provisions was NOT made in the Charter Act of 1833?

(a) The trading activities of the East India Company were to be abolished

(b)The designation of the supreme authority was to be changed to the Governor-General of India in the Council

(c) All law-making powers to be conferred on Governor-General in Council

(d) An Indian was to be appointed as a Law Member in the Governor-General’s Council

Answer: Option D